Why can't you work on your own car anymore?

Joseph Hanning, a brave fellow, prepares to pull the engine on his third-generation Mazda RX-7. These days, most of us leave this kind of task to the professionals.
(Photo: Joseph Hanning/flickr)

I have a long history of working on my own cars. This is true: I own a
creeper (to get under the car), a greasy pair of overalls, and a full toolbox,
plus accessories like timing lights, compression testers and a torque wrench. Although I haven’t seen that last one for a while ... did you borrow it?

I own two cars built in the 1960s, and they’re a piece of cake to work on. I
could actually stand in the Dodge to work on its Slant Six engine. Changing the
plugs, replacing the coil, putting in a new water pump, tuning up, replacing
fluids — all these things are easy because they’re accessible. The same is true
of my old Volvo 122S. All the key components of its four-cylinder engine are
right there waiting for me to wrench them.

The engine bay of a 1961 Valiant V-100 with Slant Six engine. I had one of these. Notice how nice and accessible everything is? (Photo: Greg Gjerdingen/flickr)

Today’s cars? Forget about it. I wouldn’t know where
to begin. Well, actually, I know where to begin — investing in diagnostic
equipment. When today’s cars, meeting the federal OBDII standard, go wrong they
tell you the problem with an incomprehensible code that your mechanic — but not
you — can read.

Maybe I’d mosey down to Walmart and buy a Launch
Tech 301050144 Crv+ Obdii Diagnostic Scan Tool for $54.95. It boasts “a full-color
QVGA screen and the ability to graph 2 PIDs of data, along with blazing fast
refresh rate for better graphing and live data readings.”

Of course, buying the thing isn’t enough. I’d then
have to figure out how to use it. It could be a long, humiliating experience.
My 85-year-old stepfather pulled out a diagnostic tool to check on my Volvo’s
battery — I wouldn’t have a clue how to use that thing.

Buying one of these gadgets is the first hurdle. The second is figuring out how to use it. (Photo: Autel MaxiScan OBD2 OBD II Scanner CAN BUS)

It’s not just the codes, it’s also the
accessibility. Today’s engine bays are packed, and there’s often some big cover
between you and spark plugs, distributor or starter motor. It’s unlikely you’re
even going to see any of that if you open the hood.

Here’s a Mazda owner with a pithy quote: “I had my
last car for four years and only ever opened the hood to change the wiper
fluid. I’ve opened the hood on my new car one time, to show someone the engine.
Turned out there wasn’t anything to see — it was all covered up. I don’t intend
to open it again.”

Tom Baxter at Grassroots Motorsports asks, “Is there
a point at which BMWs can no longer be wrenched on by mere mortals?” I think we’re
there already. At IGN.com, a poor sap in need of a replacement alternator paid
$176 for the part and then that same amount again to have it installed. I used
to do alternators in 10 minutes — slack off the retaining nut, remove the belt,
slap the new part in, tighten the belt. Done. Not now.
IGN’s Hypoluxa13 reports,
“Alternators can be a real bitch to get to on some cars, and require
disassembly of other parts just to get to the alternator.” Exactly.

Is there hope. I see glimmers! This lengthy treatise is from a Ford F-150 owner. It’s the most popular vehicle in the U.S., shouldn’t
it be easy to work on?

"I usually hear from others that today's cars are so complicated, it’s
virtually impossible for an amateur to be able to work on them and actually fix
anything. Yesterday I tried and was amazed at how easy it was to do a repair
and how little time it took compared to the same task on any car made 20 or more
years ago. Nothing big……just replacing a broken side-view mirror on my '98 Ford
F150, but that involved taking off and putting back the inside door panel. It
took only about 30 minutes, but most of that time was spent trying to figure out
the procedure for removing the door panel.
Once that was resolved, it was nothing more than one bolt for the door
handle, two plastic pins, and lift it off. I have to believe an experience mechanic
could do the whole job, including the three bolts for the mirror, in five-to-10
minutes.

Labor would have been $67 plus tax, so he’s happy. But note — this story was
posted in 1999, and it’s about a 1998 truck. This kind of job has gotten harder
since then, because of all the components packed into door panels these days — electronic
controls, power window, mirror and door lock controls, woofers, tweeters, you
name it. For many people now, door mirror replacement is daunting — I should
know, since I’ve delayed for months tackling the fogged example on the left
side of our Honda Fit.

I love what new cars can do, but I miss the old days when I replaced driveshafts, axles and starters just by eyeballing the problem. As for you, if you're a total novice about what's under the hood, watch this video, which will at least identify the basic parts of a car: